August 2017 Monthly Management

Reseeding Demonstration

Drinagh will be holding a reseeding demonstration and family day on the farm of Denis and Fiona Harnedy, Shepperton, Skibbereen, on Wednesday August 30^th at 2pm.

The event will give farmers a first-hand opportunity to see how different reseeding methods may work on their farm and the best practice procedures needed to follow in order to achieve the best return on their investment. A selection of local contractors will provide a live demonstration of reseeding machinery on the day. These include conventional ploughing system, disc harrowing, one pass system and direct drilling.

Along with the live demonstration, leading industry experts will speak and give advice on a range of topics relating to reseeding grassland – the benefits of reseeding, soil fertility, grass variety selection and weed control. The guest speakers on the day will include;

• Dr Mary McEvoy – Technical Development Manager, Germinal Seeds.
• Dr Michael O’Donovan – Research Officer, Teagasc Moorepark
• Dr Stan Lawlor – Head of Speciality, Grassland Agro
• Dave Barry – Grass and Forage Crops General Manager, Goldcrop
• Don Crowley – Dairy Advisor, Teagasc Clonakilty.

Cultivation and Weed Control Plots

There will be a selection of grass plots on display in the demonstration field.. These grass plots will show a comparison between some of the different sowing techniques and weed control approaches at reseeding. Three cultivation plots were sown using the following techniques:

• Aitchison direct drill.
• Power harrow/One-pass seed drill.
• Disc harrow cultivation & one pass seed drill.

The weed control plots will demonstrate a number of different approaches in weed control in reseeds;

• Full weed control (pre-emergence and post-emergence sprays used).
• Partial weed control (one treatment only).
• No weed control.

An assessment of the pros and cons of each of the cultivation methods and weed control treatments will be discussed with contributions from each guest speaker also.

In addition to the reseeding event, numerous trade stands will be present to offer attendees professional advice with expertise on a vast range of topics and products.

As it is a family event, Drinagh will be providing children’s entertainment as well as complimentary food and refreshments on the day.

This is a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine (DAFM) approved Knowledge Transfer beef and dairy event. DAFM Registration for Knowledge Transfer group participants will be from 1:45pm to 3:00pm.

Further details on the reseeding demonstration are in the attached flyer.

All are welcome to attend.

Autumn Grassland Management

The aims of autumn grassland management are:

• 1.to keep grass in the diet for as long as possible this autumn
• 2.to set up the farm for Spring 2018 by grazing out paddocks well and housing cattle at the right time with the right amount of grass on the farm

While November may seem a long time away – action is required now to increase the amount of grass on the farm while growth rates are good and highest farm cover should be reached by mid September. Where there is no grass in September there will not be any grass in October or November.

See table below for target rotation length at different stages during the autumn.

Quick guide: On a 30 day rotation approx. 3% of the total grazing area available should be grazed per day – if higher than 3% is being grazed per day then the rotation is shorter the 30 days.

Rotation length may be increased by:

• Feeding meals
• Feeding high quality bales
• Selling / removing surplus stock
• Having all ground available for grazing
• Getting adequate nitrogen out (include some P and K if allowable)

Once peak cover is achieved in mid September (approx. average farm cover of 1100kgs /DM/ha), the plan changes to stretching out grass supply until housing. Maintaining grass in the cows diet will have a positive effect on milk yield and milk solids.

Targets at stocking rate of 2.5LU/ha:

(targets will need to be adjusted based on soil type, stocking rate and spring calving rate)

• 1.Start to close paddocks from early October (the paddocks closed first will be the first paddocks grazed in Spring 2018)
• 2.60% of the grazing area closed by November 1^st and cattle fully housed once target closing cover is achieved

Care should be taken to avoid carrying too high of an average farm cover in the autumn (over 1200kgs /dm/ ha at 2.5LU/ha). Grazing very high covers will:

• make it difficult to reach targets
• make clean out of paddocks very difficult especially on heavier farms or in poor weather conditions
• paddocks with higher covers will also have slower regrowth potential

Discontinued Products Reduced to Clear

The following plant protection products will not be available for general sale after the 31^st of September 2017